Yearly Archives: 2013

Darren Collison was born August 23, 1987 to parents, June and Dennis Collison. He attended Etiwanda High School where he was McDonald’s All-American Top 40 candidate and the No. 2 point guard in the West. He was also an All-CIF Southern Section I-AA Player of the Year and a Los Angeles Times All-Star. Collison led Etiwanda (31-2) in points (20.7), three-pointers, steals (2.1), assists (4.0) and added 4.0 rebounds per game.

Collison attended UCLA, where he was considered one of the top point guards in the nation and led them to three consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances and became the UCLA record holder for games played during his career as a Bruin.

Collison was named third team All-American and selected to the All-Pac-10 Defensive Team during his collegiate career. He was recognized as the Most Outstanding Player of the Pac-10 Tournament and was the recipient of the 2009 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (an award given to the nation’s outstanding senior male collegian 6’0 and under who has excelled both athletically and academically). He also received his Bachelor of Science degree in History from UCLA.

Darren was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets as the 21st overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft. Collison handed out a rookie-record 18 assists for the Hornets in January 2010 and averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists per game on his way to NBA All-Rookie First Team honors.

In August 2010, Darren was traded to the Indiana Pacers and immediately took his place as the team’s starting point guard, averaging 13.2 ppg and 5.1 apg.

On July 12, 2012, Collison and Dahntay Jones were traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Ian Mahinmi. Collison became the Mavericks’ starting point guard, replacing Jason Kidd who left as a free agent

the off season, Darren is available for corporate appearances, motivational speaking engagements, VIP meet and greets, autograph signings, basketball camps and product endorsements.

He needed every inch of his towering frame to win the CIF State championship in the 400 meters.

“My coach told me before the race that it was going to be so close I would have to lean at the finish,” Parish said. “I didn’t know for sure I won until the announcer said it.”

At that very moment, it all become worth it. All the excrutiating ladders, the weight lifting, the monotonous training.

It was the kick that Parish developed last summer that was his greatest weapon, one he unleashed like never before on June 1.

His time of 46.53 at the state finals stands as the third best 400 meter time in the country this season.

The adrenaline was running so high in the 400 state final that the top three times in the state were achieved in that one race. Parish had to close a significant gap over the final 150 meters to edge Eureka’s Alexis Robinson by two hundredths of a second.

“It was a photo finish,” Etiwanda coach Bennie Gooden said. “Miles just out-leaned him at the line. He was behind where he was supposed to be entering the final 150, but he just kicked it into gear.”

Parish isn’t typically alarmed when trailing.

After all, he calmly erased a five-meter gap in the final 100 meters to win CIF-SS Masters by two tenths of a second, a lifetime compared to his margin at state.

But he knew the state final wasn’t unfolding according to plan. Against the best competition he had seen all year, he was too far behind entering the final curve. In an event that Gooden calls the thinking man’s race, Parish hadn’t executed properly to that point

“The top of the last 150 has been my weakest point,” Parish said. “My coaches would make me run a full 400 and start my teammates at the last 150 mark and let them run full speed from there. At the state final, I just found another gear and at the finish all I could do was hope it was enough.”

Once the euphoria wore off after winning his first state championship in his first trip to the state meet, Parish had another realization. The senior signed a letter of intent with Arizona for 85 percent of a scholarship. The Wildcats, however, made him a deal.

The faster he ran throughout the season, the closer he would get to a full scholarship.

True to their word, Arizona drew up a new letter of intent for Parish after the state meet. With a time like the one he posted, nothing less than a full scholarship would have been fair.

“This whole season turned out better than I could have possibly imagined,” Parish said. “They way it all happened, it was just crazy.”

HIGH SCHOOL-Scout.com ranked him as the No. 53 safety in the nation, while Rivals.com pegged him at No. 57 in the athlete category (and as the No. 64 overall prospect in California). A three-year letterman in football, he was first-team All-Southeastern Conference on both offense (wide receiver) and defense (cornerback) as a senior. He was named first-team all-county and his team’s most improved player. On offense, he had 53 receptions for 1,123 yards and 14 touchdowns, averaging 21.2 yards per catch. Defensively, he totaled 47 tackles, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, two interceptions and 15 pass deflections. He also averaged 36 yards on punt returns with one touchdown. As a junior, he was named first-team all-league and second-team all-county on defense. He had 30 catches for 600 yards and four touchdowns on offense, and at his cornerback spot, he tallied 57 tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, an interception and eight passes broken up. He garnered honorable mention all-league accolades on defense as a sophomore starting at safety, when he had 45 tackles and four interceptions on the season-his first year playing football. Top games his senior year: against Redlands East Valley, he caught six passes for 160 yards and a touchdown, along with nine tackles, four passes broken up an interception in a 41-40 loss; in a 50-12 win over Redlands, he had four catches for 130 yards (one TD), while making three tackles on defense; in a 56-38 win over Rancho Buena Vista, he made seven catches for 171 yards (two TDs) to go with seven tackles. Under coach Harold Strauss, his team went a combined 30-6 in his three years playing football: 9-3 as a senior, 10-2 as a junior and 11-1 as a sophomore; Colton advanced to the second round of the playoffs each year. He also lettered in basketball and track, earning a combined seven letters between the two.

ACADEMICS-He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology in December 2010.

PERSONAL-Born July 26, 1988 in Fontana, Calif. Hobbies include playing video games and hanging out with friends in his spare time. Four brothers have played college football: Ryan Smalls (Millikin), Terrance Smalls (Illinios), Paul Smith (New Mexico) and Anthony Smalls (Idaho State). After college, he aspires to be an FBI agent.